How to check
- Ask for the license number
Washington contractors use a 12-character registration or license identifier. Compare the number on the bid, advertisement, or contract with the record you find.
- Run an exact lookup
Search the license first. If you only have a business name, check every result carefully because similar names and separate registrations can exist.
- Review registration and filings
Read the official status, contractor type, specialties, registration dates, Insurance Filing, and Bond Filing sections.
- Confirm at the official source
Use Washington L&I for current status, infractions, lawsuits against the bond, owners, workers’ compensation information, and other details outside this V1 dataset.
How to read the fields
Registration status is the status published for that exact contractor record at the snapshot date. Specialties are official source descriptions, not CivaVero classifications.
Insurance Filing and Bond Filing reproduce filing records. “Expiration on File” is the filing’s date field; it is not a promise that coverage exists for a future project.
What the record cannot prove
Registration does not guarantee quality, skill, pricing, availability, or a problem-free project. L&I states that hiring a registered contractor may provide protections, but does not guarantee that problems will not happen.
Official source: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries contractor verification.